Japan Forward
Date: July 6, 2020
By: Editorial Board, Sankei Shimbun 

Japan has lifted some of its restrictions on travel into and out of Japan which were imposed in order to guard against the spread of the novel coronavirus. Oddly, however, it has given Taiwan the cold shoulder.

On June 25, a party from Japan’s business community took off from Tokyo International Airport at Narita. Destination: Vietnam. This marked the first step in Japan’s resumption of normal overseas air traffic. 

Phased relaxation of restrictions on Japan’s inbound and outbound travels is a must if we are to get the country’s economy out of the deep freeze. However, the core premise we need to follow in doing so is that all policies should aim at preventing a recurrence of the spread of the coronavirus within Japan. To that end, we must have in place a comprehensive testing regime.

As part of its policy to stop the coronavirus at “the water’s edge,” Japan has refused entry to foreigners from 111 nations and regions.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/07/05
By:  Central News Agency

The self-declared African state of Somaliland has appointed senior diplomat Mohamed Omar Hagi Mohamoud as its first representative to Taiwan, according to a post on social media by Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) Saturday.

Mohamoud, a political scientist, researcher and political analyst, was named Saturday by Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi as the envoy to Taiwan, following an announcement in Taipei three days before that the two sides planned to set up reciprocal representative offices for the first time, according to MOFA.

"We warmly welcome President @musebiihi's appointment of Amb. Mohamed Omar Hagi Mohamoud as the #Somaliland representative to #Taiwan," MOFA said on Twitter.

"A political scientist & senior diplomat, @mohamed hagi will make a fine addition to the country's diplomatic corps."    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 07/05/2020
By: Matt Yu, Cheng Chi-feng and Joseph Yeh

Kaohsiung, July 5 (CNA) A solider who fell overboard during a military anti-landing drill last week died in hospital Sunday, bringing the death toll to two in the boat accident that occurred off the coast of Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan.

Staff Sergeant Chen Chih-jung (陳志榮) passed away at 6:29 p.m. Sunday, after his family decided to discontinue life support, according to the Zuoying Branch of the Kaohsiung Armed Forces General Hospital.

In a separate press release, the Navy expressed condolences to Chen's family and said he will receive a posthumous promotion. The Navy also promised to provide compensation and funeral assistance to the family.

Chen is the second soldier to have died after the accident during the military exercise on Friday morning, when a raiding craft from the 99th Brigade of the Marine Corps overturned with seven soldiers on board, off Taoziyuan beach in Kaohsiung.    [FULL  STORY][

Project needs equipment and sample from Europe, but impossible at present due to coronavirus pandemic: MOI

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/07/04
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer\

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of Interior (MOI) is postponing the introduction of electronic identity cards (eID) from October until the first half of 2021 due to the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, reports said Saturday (July 4).

The new timetable saw the launch take place either in the first or second quarter of next year, depending on the virus situation at that time, CNA reported.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 07/04/2020
ByL: Chang Ming-hsuan and Matthew Mazzetta

Taipei, July 4 (CNA) Taiwan's former top disease control official this week called on the government to issue emergency use authorizations (EUAs) to speed up the development of COVID-19 vaccine candidates, saying plans to hold clinical trials before year-end are "simply too slow."

Taiwan needs to take steps to accelerate domestic development of a vaccine, because it may not have immediate access when one is discovered abroad, given the intensity of global demand, Su Ih-jen (蘇益仁), former director-general of the Bureau of Communicable Disease Control — the predecessor of the Centers for Disease Control — told CNA this week.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over 100 COVID-19 vaccine candidates are currently in development worldwide, 18 of which had entered human trials as of July 2. The countries making the fastest progress — the United States, Europe and China — have said a vaccine could reach the market by the end of 2020.

In Taiwan, however, only two firms have submitted applications for clinical trials, while a third is expected to do in July, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).
[FULL  STORY]

DOING ENOUGH? The HPA budgets NT$1.3 billion to prevent the health hazards of tobacco, but has no separate budget to fight teen drinking, a doctor said

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 05, 2020
By: Yang Yuan-ting and Dennis Xie / Staff reporter, with staff writer

The government should step up alcohol education and prevention efforts, and allocate more of the budget to it, doctors said on Friday, citing the high consumption of alcohol among Taiwanese adolescents.

One out of four 12-to-17-year-olds has consumed alcohol, said Yen Tsung-hai (顏宗海), director of Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital’s Department of Clinical Toxicology.

The Health Promotion Administration (HPA) budgets NT$1.3 billion (US$43.9 million) annually to prevent the health hazards of tobacco, but it has not allocated a separate budget for preventing teenage drinking or excessive alcohol use, Yen said.

“There is no so-called ‘safe drinking level’ for minors,” because any amount consumed hinders their brain development, he said, citing the sensitivity of the hippocampus and the prefrontal lobe to ethanol    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 03 July, 2020
By: Leslie Liao

The foreign ministry has announced that Taiwan will reopen its representative office in Guam. The move comes three years after Taiwan temporarily shut down the office for financial reasons and because office personnel were needed elsewhere.

The foreign ministry says the main reasons it plans to reopen the office are the thriving state of Taiwan-US ties and an increased budget. The office is expected to assist the US in carrying out its Indo-Pacific Strategy.    [FULL  STORY]

East Asia Forum
Date: 3 July 2020
By: Nicholas Chiu, Taipei

While the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) bellows at Hong Kong, it is relatively low-key on cross-strait relations. Three economic signals and a pair of political statements make Beijing’s tone down of threats against Taiwan perceptible.

First was the reintroduction of Chinese smartphones in Taiwan. Vivo, a Chinese tech firm, is set to introduce two smartphone models into the Taiwanese market. The comeback was made after the National Communications Commission (NCC) of Taiwan started restricting technology devices containing ‘sovereignty-degrading’ substance in November 2019.

Passing the NCC audit implies that Vivo is willing to erase terms such as ‘Chinese–Taiwan’ on its products. Such involvement would have been unimaginable in 2018 when Beijing forced international airlines to purge all references to Taiwan as a separate country. Though Vivo suddenly halted its sales on 1 June 2020 due to ‘technical’ problems, Chinese authorities and media remain unusually quiet.

Next was the Chinese government’s announcement of economic bonuses for Taiwanese businesses before the second-term inauguration of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on 20 May, 2020. Defying numerous predictions, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council — the mainland administrative agency responsible for implementing policies related to Taiwan — rolled out 11 economic incentives for Taiwanese entrepreneurs in China on 15 May.
[FULL  STORY]